Patient Satisfaction in Health Care

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Introduction

The research problem that the authors of the selected article sought to answer in their research is on how to improve the level of patient satisfaction in the delivery of health care within medical homes and other health care organizations. The research questions that are addressed by the researchers include the determination of the role of patient-centered care in improving patient satisfaction of health care services and the assessment of the impact of involving family members on the general quality of care that patients receive within medical homes.

The main point that the researchers put forward based on their study is that the implementation of the patient-centered care approach and the involvement of family members in the health care delivery process are the main prerequisites of providing high-quality care within medical centers or health care organizations.

The researchers employed the findings of their empirical research to support their hypothesis and main argument. The study hypothesizes that many medical centers fail to incorporate patient-centered care, leading to patient dissatisfaction with health care services. The use of descriptive statistics and content analysis allowed the researchers to come up with reliable data, which allowed them to conclude that health care providers need to integrate the needs and perspectives of patients and members of their families in the implementation of health care interventions to achieve the desired level of quality and patient satisfaction in health care delivery processes.

Evaluation of Research Methods

The authors do not provide a section dedicated to a literature review in the article but they utilize existing research findings to effectively provide the background and justification of their study. The researchers used current literature on the topic and empirical evidence related to their research questions to demonstrate that the extent into which many medical centers within the United States involve patients and members of their families in the health care delivery processes is significantly low (Moore, Hamilton, Krusel, Moore, & Pierre-Louis, 2016).

This is even though the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) provides that health care organizations should implement the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model to ensure that the needs of patients and members of their families are adequately met in the implementation of all clinical interventions. The research that the authors present in their article is very current and comprehensively addresses the issues that limit the delivery of high-quality patient-centered health care to patients. The problems that modern medical centers and health care organizations face in the delivery of high-quality care are also comprehensively addressed in the article.

The researchers used a qualitative descriptive design to elicit responses and recommendations from patients and members of their families on the problems they face in health care delivery processes and the solutions they consider most appropriate for addressing these problems. The qualitative descriptive design allows researchers to effectively conduct qualitative surveys and to integrate the resultant findings with the analysis of quantitative data to come up with reliable conclusions and recommendations for solving specific problems (Shi, 2008). The qualitative descriptive design enabled the researchers to come up with relevant suggestions from patients and family members on how health care providers can improve health care experiences.

The selection of participants for the study was based on convenient sampling. The research included 200 female and male participants. The study sample was specifically composed of patients from the military population in the United States and members of their families (Moore et al., 2016).

The study sample proved adequate in determining the perspectives of family members and patients on the factors that influence their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the health care delivery processes within medical homes and the associated impact on the mental and physical health of patients. The convenient sampling technique enables researchers to come up with rich qualitative data for answering their research questions (Brink, Van, & Van, 2007). However, convenient sampling is associated with some bias in the selection and inclusion of an adequately representative sample in a study (Shi, 2008).

The study that is reported in the article provides practical solutions for medical centers and health care providers for providing health care services that aim at achieving the highest level of patient satisfaction. Since the findings in the article emanated from patients and members of their families, it is argued that they provide reliable evidence for the implementation of patient-centered and high-quality care health care interventions within medical centers.

The use of open-ended questions and structured interviews by the researchers makes their findings practical in assessing the experiences of patients and members of their families on the health care delivery processes and the proposal of practical solutions for improving patient satisfaction of health care services within medical centers.

The evidence-based suggestions of the authors on improving patient satisfaction in health care include clinical leadership, continuity of care, and the implementation of the patient-centered care model within health care organizations. These suggestions are both reliable and applicable in addressing the problems that limit the implementation of health care processes that are aligned with the unique needs of patients and the preferences of members of their families.

It is argued that the researchers would have improved their study by including a diverse population of patients and family members as opposed to targeting participants within the military population within the United States. For instance, the researchers would have included participants from populations that experience disparities in the delivery of health care processes, such as cultural and ethnic minorities (Chin, Walters, Cook, & Huang, 2007).

These improvements in the study would have made the findings of the research more representative and applicable to the general patient population. However, it is important to note that the research article is presented straightforwardly and clearly, which makes it an effective reference material for health care providers who seek to implement and support evidence-based and patient-centered health care models. From the analysis of the study, it is recommended that future research should be carried out on the variables or factors that influence the level of patient satisfaction of health care processes, including the beliefs, values, and the social-economic statuses of patients and members of their family.

Conclusion

The critique of the chosen research article demonstrates that the findings of the researchers are generally reliable and credible in solving the problem of patient dissatisfaction with the kind of health care interventions that they receive within medical centers.

The application of content analysis and the qualitative descriptive design allowed the researchers to report comprehensive data on patient satisfaction of health care delivery systems and the areas that health care providers must improve to effectively implement patient-centered care models. The article is an informative source of empirical information for health care organizations that seek to implement improvements in their health care services or systems.

References

Brink, H., Van, W. C., & Van, R. G. (2007). Fundamentals of research methodology for health care professionals. Kenwyn: Juta.

Chin, M. H., Walters, A. E., Cook, S. C., & Huang, E. S. (2007). Interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Medical Care Research and Review, 64(5), 7S-28S.

Moore, A. D., Hamilton, J. B., Krusel, J. L., Moore, L. G., & Pierre-Louis, B. J. (2016). Patients Provide Recommendations for Improving Patient Satisfaction. Military Medicine, 181(4), 356-363. Web.

Shi, L. (2008). Health services research methods. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/Delmar Learning.

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